My Weird Fairytale
by moonlightwriter66
Summary: Katara is a pianist. Zuko holds a ball. She's not invited as a guest, but instead was hired to play the piano. Katara makes it clear that she wants nothing to do with Prince Zuko, and she's only there to do her job. Zuko thinks he can change her mind.
1. The Beginning

**A/N: Even though I already have 2 other stories I want to finish, I really want to write this one anyway. This story takes place in kind of a fairy tale land, except no dragons, fairies, magic, and all that jazz. Obviously, Zuko is the prince. (He wasn't banished, and his mom didn't disappear. It would make this story very difficult…) Everything else is the same. **

**I hope you guys like it!**

**Katara's POV**

I was being called over to the Grand Palace by Mr. Prince himself. Yeah, exciting right? Not really. The only reason he would need me is because I am a professional pianist, and he wants me to play at his royal ball. Any other girl would be jumping for joy, but I'm not one of those giddy idiots. I see the prince for what he really is. A snobby, stuck up, unappreciative brat, just like every prince, king, princess, or queen. I've played for them all. The nice thing they had going on, that was all an act. Once they're away from their people, and you get to talk to them one-on-one, they start to show their true colors. I learned that you wouldn't get anywhere with being polite. I've had it with pretending that royalty was actually pleasant to be around. Anyway, I am supposed to play for the prince at the ball, and I was not happy about it. Sure, piano playing was my profession, and I earn a lot of money, and I love playing the piano, but… I just can't stand the rich guys that I play for. They're just downright infuriating.

Right now, I'm in a carriage, sent by Prince Zuko. _Very _thoughtful. I also have my stuff with me; some clothes, my music, some books, the necessities. I'll be staying for a week or two at the palace. Two weeks of royal pain-in-the-butts. Yay. My dad isn't here because he's in another one of his business meetings. He has a ton of those. My mom…well, my mom died from arthritis. It's really cold where I'm from. My older brother Sokka is still in his all-boys academy because he doesn't have a job yet.

Currently, I was reviewing all my music in my head, and playing on my imaginary piano in front of me. After a few more hours of sleeping, "practicing", and twiddling my thumbs, we finally arrived. It's a good thing, too, because my butt and my thighs were starting to numb. I stood up, but the carriage suddenly hit a bump, and my head slammed into the ceiling.

**Normal POV**

"Ow…" Katara moaned, rubbing her head, and trying to keep down the headache that was threatening to surface.

"You all right?" The carriage driver called, chuckling.

"Yeah, fine," She responded, still rubbing her head.

He laughed. "Sorry about that!"

"It's all right," she replied.

The carriage came to a halt, and the carriage driver yelled, "You may stand now!"

"Haha, funny," She said sarcastically, climbing out of the carriage.

As soon as she stepped out, a loud voice announced, "SHE HAS ARRIVED!"

Katara brushed off her skirt, and stood, her arms cramping with the luggage she carried. A servant immediately rushed to get her stuff, and she started to protest.

"I can handle it, really, it's fine."

The boy smiled at her and said, "Then I suppose you know where to carry it then."

She blushed at her foolishness. "Fine, take my stuff to my room." She quickly added, "If it's not too much of a burden, of course…"

The servant laughed. "I'm pretty sure it's not too heavy. You don't have to worry about me."

Katara smiled doubtfully, but let him go with all of her luggage. She watched him rush into the palace with ease, even with all her heavy things.

"Katara, welcome to our castle," A warm voice called.

She turned to the door, and there stood a woman who held herself with poise.

**Katara's POV**

The woman who seemed to be the queen welcomed me graciously into the castle, which surprised me. What surprised me more, however, was the fact that she called me by my name, not "you" or "peasant". It was a nice change. However, I will not let my guard down to soon. Once we're inside the castle, she'll probably drop the act.

"If you would follow me…" the queen said. I did as I was instructed, going through the door, and into the torch-lit hallway. The torches made eerie shadows along the wall, and didn't really help to light the way. I waited for her to introduce herself, but she said nothing. Ah, so this is where the rudeness begins.

Deciding to force her into introducing herself, I said, "Excuse me, what's your name?"

The queen turned to me, shocked. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Ursa. Queen Ursa."

Did she just _apologize? _To _me? _Okay, so maybe for her it wasn't an act. Maybe.

I smiled. I wasn't used to royalty like her, but she was nice, so I decided to return the favor. "It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness," I said, curtsying. I haven't curtsied in quite some time, my respect for royalty gone and all that, but I hope I remembered how to do it correctly.

"Oh there's no need for that, my dear," She said, putting her hand on my shoulder. "I'm just really glad you could make it. I heard you were the best pianist in the world, and we wanted the best for our son's ball. And you came, even though we called at the last minute! To squeeze us into your tight schedule like that…"

Whoa. She just called me good. No, she called me the _best. _And she was _glad _I was here! I was starting to like her.

"No, it was no trouble at all," I heard myself say.

Ursa smiled and nodded at me. She continued to walk down the hall, and turned to the left. I followed her. She took a few more turns, and then stopped at a door. It was kind of hard to keep up with her, there were so many turns, and she walked quite quickly.

"Here we are," She said, opening the door.

Light poured in from the room into the dark hallway. I stepped inside the huge room, and I must say, it was magnificent. A huge diamond chandelier hung from the ceiling, the tables were decorated with golden flowers and had white table cloths, the stage was made of marble and there were black curtains that cascaded to the floor so elegantly. Candles lit up every square foot of the huge room. In the center of the stage, there was a huge black piano. I was absolutely amazed. The light from the candles bounced off of the huge chandelier, causing it to sparkle and gleam. I walked toward the piano, my footsteps echoing in the huge empty room.

"This is where the first ball will take place. The second ball will take place in another room," Ursa's voice bounced off of the walls.

"There's _another _room like this?" I said incredulously.

She chuckled. "No, actually, it's very different."

I walked toward the piano, in some sort of weird trance. I ran my fingers along the keys. It was so new, so grand…so…wonderful. I loved it. I wanted to play it. I wanted it.

"Go ahead, play a song."

I looked up at her, smiling. "May I?"

"I insist."

I sat down on the bench, which was padded and very comfortable. I inhaled deeply, positioning my hands and readying myself for the song. I usually wouldn't just dive straight into a song like this, but I wanted to show off my talents to her. It was strange, I kind of felt some sort of connection to her, like a mother-daughter thing. It felt nice having that sort of connection, for I hadn't had something like that in a while. A pang of sorrow and guilt hit me as I thought of my own mother. I shrugged the thought off, and began to play.

I started out slow, but as I got more into the song, I started to play faster, louder, and getting softer when necessary. All the notes, all the rhythms, all the dynamics were clearly etched in my mind. I was halfway through the song when the door flew open. A man stepped in, clearly fuming.

"And what do you think you're doing, peasant?" He bellowed. He sounded five times louder because of the echo effect. Oh, so this is where reality catches up with me. Aha! And he even addressed me as "peasant". Did I know royalty or what?

"Playing my music," I answered nonchalantly. I was used to the likes of him. "After all, that's what you called me here for, isn't it?" I took my hands off of the piano and set them defiantly on my hips.

He growled, eyes narrowing and nostrils flaring. "If you think that you can-"

"Enough."

We both turned to the queen. "Ozai darling, I asked her to play." _He _was the king? Well, I kind of suspected that, but why would such a nice woman marry such a rude man? I hated how sweet she sounded.

Steam was pouring out of his nostrils. He turned to her. "Ursa, _honey, _we have very important issues to attend to. Your _son, _an _eighteen-year-old_, refuses to attend his dancing lessons. Really, his own ball and he won't even know how to dance? Truly ridiculous."

"Relax dear. I'll talk to him." And with that, she left, giving me an apologetic look. I smiled back as if to tell her that it was alright.

Ozai gave me one last glare, and followed his wife out the door.

As soon as the door shut, I started to play furiously, an angry march song. _That JERK! How could he talk to me like that? How can he talk to his _wife _like that? _I continued to vigorously play the piano as if _it _was the one who killed my mother, as if _it _was the one who yelled at me a few moments ago. I tried to play a calming song, but I ended up stomping on the pedal at the base of the piano, and gave up. I slammed my hands down on the piano, making a clash of notes, and shattering my eardrums.

"My _father _getting to you, too?" A young man dressed in a tuxedo stepped in from the back door. He was really handsome, with piercing golden eyes and raven black hair.

"_You're _the prince?" I asked. I turned away from him, knowing he was stuck up, like all the other princes. They all pretend to be nice and charming, and they'll steal your heart with kind words and sweet promises, then shatter it with not a care in the world when they find someone new, just like Prince Jet had. I know I was being a little prejudice, but I haven't met one prince to prove me wrong.

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason," I said stiffly. I started to play the piano with ferocity again. Just thinking about that jerk Jet got me angry. I could feel the prince's eyes on me, but I could care less. My piano playing was more than satisfactory at the least. And that's a fact.

"Ozai is trying to make me take dance lessons," Zuko spoke again, trying to keep a conversation going. I don't know why he even bothered, because I'm probably just another peasant girl to him. And plus, I was still practicing! Who does he think he is, trying to disturb me? However, I noticed he didn't address his father as "father" or "dad" or "daddy" or "the king" or whatever other stupid name you could think of. He called him by the his first name, which was a sign of…could it be? _Disrespect._ That did surprise me a little.

"Yeah, I heard," I replied curtly. I didn't want to give him much to talk about.

"I didn't even want this stupid ball in the first place," He stated.

My eyebrows raised, but my back was to him, so he couldn't have noticed. I thought he had organized this ball himself. Whatever, he was still ungrateful to whomever arranged this ball, and that just proves that all princes are unappreciative. He stayed silent for a while, to my relief, I did not want to talk to him anymore.

"Well it was nice meeting you…"

"Katara." I finished.

"Katara," He repeated.

"Hm…" I murmured in response. I wasn't sure I felt the same way. However, I continued to play my song, and he turned to leave. But before he walked out…

"By the way, you're really good." Then he left.

It was just above a whisper, but I heard it. I was about to smile, but I caught myself, and forced it down. I don't need him to tell me that I'm good. I knew it already. But still…the compliment was nice…

**Zuko's POV**

I walked out of the door. That girl wasn't as easily charmed as the rest. But when I closed the door, she started to play a slightly more calming song. I smiled. Maybe she was. Then suddenly she charged into another angry march song. I frowned. Or maybe not. I smiled to myself. Still…I do appreciate a challenge…

"There you are!" My mother's voice called. _Shit._

"Now young man, we talked about this. No aggravating your father while the guest is around, got that?"

"But mother…" He whined, hating how childish he sounded at the moment.

"Zuko, this is your dance, and you have four of them, which gives you more chances. You cannot mess up any of them. This may be the only way you can find a wife!"

"I really don't give a-"

"Now Zuko…""But this is so cliché! You want me to find a 'perfect match' at the ball, like _Cinderella_, and do you want me to fight a dragon and rescue _Sleeping Beauty _as well? This isn't a fairy tale, mom! I want to find my wife my way, and I don't need a stupid ball to do that!" I stormed off, leaving my mom in shock. I hated fighting with her, but there is no way I'm learning how to dance, and I don't want to attend one of those formal balls where I have to hold my poise, talk sophisticated, and charm every woman in sight. The last thought disgusted me. I threw open my door and collapsed on my bed, laying on my back and staring at the ceiling. My eyes wandered over to the mirror. _Mirror, mirror on the wall; Won't you save me from this ball?_

**A/N: Hope you liked it! Now time for me to have some lunch. And update some more chapters for my other stories as well. **


	2. Practice

**A/N: Glad you liked the first chapter! So here's the next one, hope you like it!**

**Zuko's POV**

Dancing lessons. The two words that almost killed me. _"It'll pay off later!" _They said. _"You'll see!" _They said. Yeah well why don't _you _dance for three freaking hours and we'll see how much _you'll _appreciate it!

Once I had stormed into my room, Ozai almost immediately found me, and dragged me to the practice room. I didn't bother protesting, he always won anyway. He stood outside the door for half an hour, and that's when I gave up trying to escape. After he left, he put a guard in front of the door to take his place. That's how I got stuck taking three full hours of dance. Class was finally over, thank goodness, and I threw open the door and stomped out.

I continued storming down the hallway, earning worried looks from my servants and guards. I ignored them. I don't know where I was going at the moment, but the farther I got from the lair of doom (the dance room) the happier I would be. I took a sharp left, _away _from the throne room. The last thing _I _needed was another lecture from my _dear father._ He put me through three hours of agonizing dancing, with s-l-o-w music, and giggling girls. I scrunched my nose at the last thought. Their high-pitched giggles and shrieks were so irritating…I pinched the bridge of my nose. Yes, right now, I'm going wherever my feet chose to take me.

**Katara's POV**

I growled. This _King Ozai _guy was getting to me. You know, he's so big-headed, that he calls himself the _Pheonix King._ What is up with that? Anyway, he asked me, no he _demanded _that I learn a new song. That was perfectly fine with me, except I didn't appreciate his attitude. Or the song, really. It had no rhythm, no melody, it was just a bunch of notes mish-moshed together, _trying, _but failing to create a song. A bunch of notes that are _trying _too hard to be impressive. There were too many notes at the same time, it went way too fast, it was just all wrong. Rubbing my temples, I started one more time. Almost halfway into the song, I couldn't take it anymore. I slammed my hands down on the keys in frustration. (I silently apologized to the beautiful piano after that.) I refuse to play this song. But I have to… I sighed. Then, something sparked inside my head. _Ding! _Idea! I didn't know if I was allowed to…but…All of a sudden, someone burst through the doors. I sighed and put down my pencil.

Closing my eyes and turning my face toward the ceiling, I asked, "What do you want?" I was assuming it was one of the servants, here to ask me if I wanted another drink, or even worse, Ozai. When nobody answered, I huffed, and opened my eyes, turning my head toward the intruder. My eyes grew wider when I realized it was the Prince. _What the hell was he doing here? This is my practice session! He should know better than to disturb me!_

He stared at me, as if he was waiting for something.

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not bowing, if that's what you want," I said, folding my arms.

His lips quirked upwards for a second as he suppressed his smile. He was actually just surprised that his feet had taken him to her. "I wasn't expecting you to."

His answer surprised me, but I didn't care.

"Go away," I huffed, turning my face toward the ceiling again. I rested my hands on the edges of the seat and waited for him to leave.

He looked at me calmly, and taking a deep breath, he said, "No."

I whipped my head around. "Excuse me?"

**Zuko's POV**

"Excuse me?"

I chuckled. She was kind of adorable, acting like the queen of this castle. I don't think she noticed that I was the prince, but if she did, she didn't care. And I was starting to like that. I felt an argument coming on. And an argument was just what I needed to get rid of my stress.

"I said no," I repeated.

She narrowed her eyes as I tried to hold down my smile. "I'm busy."

"Doesn't look like it."

She pursed her lips. "Well I _was, _until I was rudely interrupted!"

I almost laughed. She was just as angry as I was. Except…I didn't know why.

"Well? Aren't you going to practice?" I asked her.

"Aren't _you _supposed to be at your dance lessons?" She shot back.

I was speechless for a moment. Yes, I was supposed to be at my lessons. Smiling, I said, "Touché."

She raised her eyebrows, and then started chuckling.

**Katara's POV**

I started to laugh. This argument was so ridiculous, but it definitely did help me calm down. I watched him stare amusedly at me, and I slowly quieted down. I quickly replaced my smile with a confused expression. I didn't want to fall for any of his "charming" tricks.

"Am I allowed to rewrite a song?" I asked. (This was my great idea I had before he barged in.)

He looked at me, then nodded.

"Well, it depends. If you have permission from either the original composer or the King, then you will be able to rewrite a song. Why?"

"Well, you see, your _delightful _father gave me this piano piece to play at the ball, but I really dislike it…Do you think I can tweak it a bit?"

"Hm…what song is it?"

"Agni's Dance," I replied.

**Zuko's POV**

I tilted my head, remembering that song. I, too, hated that song. It was just a mix of notes, and it didn't sound much like a song. "Well, I don't see why not…"

"So does that mean you give me your permission?" she asked.

"Well, I am not the king, and I don't think…"

"It's your ball, is it not?" She interrupted, her hands set on her hips.

"Uh…yes…I suppose," I replied.

"Well then you should be able to make your own decisions, am I right? Now, do you give me permission or what?"

I lingered on her words for a while. It _was_ my ball! I _should _be able to make my own decisions! Smiling, I replied, "Yes, I, Prince Zuko, give you permission to change the song."

"Thank you," She sighed.

I waited for a while, to see if she was going to say anything else. When she didn't, I asked, "Well, aren't you going to bow to me and say, 'Your Highness'?"

She raised an eyebrow and turned back to her music. After a few moments, she said, "Don't push it, buddy."

At first I was shocked, but then I started to laugh. Oh, yes, I was starting to like her.

**Katara's POV**

I fixed the first few measures of the song, but it was still pretty screwed up. I tried it out, and it sounded so much better. I was feeling uneasy, though, because Zuko was still in the room, staring at me with those golden eyes.

I sighed, and not taking my eyes of the sheet music, I asked, "Are you going to leave now?"

He blinked. "Uh…oh, yeah."

I rolled my eyes.

**Zuko's POV**

I loved the way her hands moved across the keys, so gentle and smooth and nimble. I loved the way she sometimes bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. I loved the way she shook her head when she played a sour note, and the way she brightened when she played it perfectly. I loved her attitude and her…

"Are you going to leave now?"

"Uh…oh, yeah." I mentally slapped myself. She was only going to be here for a couple of weeks to do her job. _And need I remind you, that she hates everything about you? _An annoying voice chirped. I sighed to myself.

As I turned around, a maid's head emerged through the enormous door, and she said, "Lunch is ready, Katara." When she spotted Zuko, her eyes widened and she quickly bowed. "You too, Prince Zuko."

He nodded towards her and said somberly, "Thank you, I'll be right there."

"Thanks!" Katara called from the stage, and gracefully leaped off, following me out the door. She gave a bright and cheerful smile to the maid, and when she saw me, the smile immediately disappeared. My heart sank slowly, but I managed to stay impassive.

"Uh…where's the dining room?"

I smiled half-heartedly and motioned for her to follow me. "This way."

**A/N: So I hope you enjoyed it…and please review if you did. Also, I would like you to tell me if anything was confusing. I apologize for any confusions and mistakes. Anyway, I look forward to your reviews!**


	3. Why Do You Hate Me?

**A/N: I love coming back from vacation to have an inbox full of reviews! Sorry for the wait, but this time I have a real excuse. ;) Anyway, enjoy!**

**If this chapter seems a bit rushed, it's because I really, really, really, really, really want to write the chapters later on, because they have more Zutara in them, and my brain is itching with ideas that are about to explode!**

**Zuko's POV**

Lunch was really awkward, and that was an understatement. Ozai sat at the head of the table, ignoring and glaring at everyone, and my mom sat beside him, trying to spark up a conversation with everyone, which always died out and ended in awkward silence. My uncle sat cheerfully next to my mother, pestering me to try to eat more vegetables, or trying to get me to drink some "fabulous" tea. I sat next to my uncle, and my sister sat next to Ozai, but only for a little while, because she hurriedly finished her lunch and stalked out of the room. Katara sat next to me, but she avoided eye contact with everybody, and finished her lunch almost as quickly as Azula had.

"Not staying for dessert?" My mom asked when she got up.

"Uhm, no thank you. I better go back to practicing," She replied stiffly, and executed a perfect Fire Nation bow. Mom smiled, and Ozai narrowed his eyes even further. And with that, she turned around and left. We continued eating for a few minutes, and my bowl of spicy noodles was almost empty when the door opened again.

"I…uh…don't know where to go," she squeaked.

My dad smirked. "Son, show her the way."

"But I'm not done…" Part of me really didn't want to talk to Katara, but another part was eager to.

"I _said, _show her the way!" he barked.

I put down my chopsticks, trying to calm myself. "Yes, _father_," I spat.

I opened the door for Katara, and she bowed her head and walked past me. Once I closed the door, I gestured for her to follow me, and she obeyed. There was a question that I desperately wanted to ask her. I took a deep breath, and summoned all of my courage. I was the prince, what was I so scared of? She was just…just…just a girl.

"Uhm…why do you…do you…do you…" Oh man, she was looking at me…with those big blue eyes….I was paralyzed.

**Katara's POV**

"Why do I what?" I asked impatiently. I tried to keep the worry out of my voice. I'm pretty sure I know what he's going to say.

"Whydoyouhateme?" His words tumbled out of his mouth so I couldn't hear him clearly.

"Uh...what was that?" I asked.

"Why...do...you...hate...me?" He repeated carefully, drawing out each word.

I was shocked, I didn't actually think he would care if I hated him or not, but thankfully, we were almost to the practice room. I decided to ignore the question until we got there.

"Katara?"

_Just keep walking...Just ignore him.._

**Zuko's POV**

"It's because of my father, isn't it? Well, I'm nothing like Ozai, actually, I'm like the complete opposite..." My voice trailed off once I saw Katara looking at me sadly.

"It has nothing to do with Ozai," She said. _Wait, what? It wasn't my dad?_

"Then what is it?"

She opened the door to the practice room and stepped inside, closing it quickly so I couldn't enter.

"Why?" I yelled, banging my fists against the closed door. I needed to know. What was the cause of her bitterness towards me if it wasn't Ozai? It just didn't make sense. I mean, I like _her_! Her evasiveness was causing me to become desperate.

I leaned my back against the door and sank down slowly. "Why?" I whispered.

**Katara's POV**

"Why?" A muffle yell came from behind the closed door, followed by a few banging noises. Then, with a sigh, he gave up.

I felt terrible. I don't know why he even cared why I hated him. I guess I'll ask him later, after I try to shake off this guilt with a little piano playing.

**Zuko's POV**

I was still sitting outside of the practice room's door. Not like I had anything better to do. Katara started with a sad song, and then a more cheerful song, but it still had a little feeling of sadness in it. _I wonder why..._

About an hour later, I fell asleep to a wonderful lullaby.

**Katara's POV**

THREE HOURS LATER

Ow. Hand cramp. Fixing the song itself took forever, but playing it over and over killed my hands. I shook my hands, trying to get rid of the pain, but to no avail. _Eh, one little break couldn't hurt._ I thought to myself. And if that bastard, Ozai, tried to fire me...well he can't, because the ball is tomorrow, and no professional pianist would agree to play on such short notice. I hopped off of the bench, and dashed down the stairs. I needed a drink. I was very thirsty. It's so hot in this place; I think all the water inside my body evaporated. Some really, really, cold water would be nice, since the weather here was never below 85 degrees Fahrenheit. I opened the door quickly, wanting to rush out the room as quickly as possible, but I almost stepped on a body. Zuko's body to be exact. Fortunately for him, I caught him just before his head hit the floor. Actually, he was _very _fortunate, because I could have stepped on him as well. Had he been sitting there, leaning on the door for the whole three hours I had been playing? Wow he's persistent...

He woke up as soon as I caught him. He looked up. I saw his eyes, and he saw mine.

"Uh...hi," He said lazily.

"Ugh..." I replied, pushing him out of my arms.

"So...do you have an answer for me?" He pleaded, looking desperately into my eyes. He was kind cute when he did that...No. Stop it.

"Not unless you have some really cold water for me," I replied.

He thought for a moment. "So if I give you water—"

"Ice cold water!" I interjected.

"Ice cold water," he repeated. "Then you will tell me why you hate me so much?"

I contemplated the idea for a moment. Water for information...bad deal? Probably. But I really didn't have a choice; I was _extremely _thirsty...and hot.

"Fine," I answered.

**Zuko's POV**

"Fine," she answered.

Wow. What a terrible deal that was. On her part, I mean.

I led her to where we kept all the frozen things in the palace. A cave. The coldest place in the entire Fire Nation and it was being used as a freezer. Not the absolute best thing to use it for, but what's done is done. Nobody knows exactly why it's so cold, but nobody really cared, they just wanted to own it. _I _think it has something to do with the odd crystals along the walls, but Ozai thought that was a stupid theory because they were too small to do anything. I still had my opinions. The weird thing about this freezer, though, wasn't the crystals or the fact that it was a cave, it was that sometimes everything in the freezer would melt, and then for the next few days it would stay melted, but then after those couple days, everything would be frozen again. This only happens once a year, always during the lunar eclipse. Nobody had the faintest idea why the heck this happened, or why it happened during the lunar eclipse, but for whatever reason, we clean out the freezer before the "Melting Period" comes. Yeah, that's what we call it.

I entered the cave and got two water bottles, just in case she got thirsty again. I handed one to her, and told her I'd keep the other one in case she needed it. She nodded.

**Katara's POV**

I admit it was very thoughtful of him to bring me two water bottles, even when I only asked for one. I sipped the freezing cold water, and it sent chills through my body. Finally, something cold instead of this searing heat. He was watching me gulp down the water, and it was kind of uncomfortable. I stopped drinking and looked at him.

"Are you going to tell me now?" He asked. I almost laughed at his eagerness, but I managed to suppress that. However, a tiny smile did form itself upon my lips.

I sighed. "Sure." I sat down in the cave. I didn't like reliving the story, heck, I even hated telling the stupid story. It was nice in here, it kind of felt like the inside of a fan, without all the wind. The crystals gleamed in the afternoon sun. I invited him to sit next to me, and he willingly obliged, folding his legs.

"Well...A few months ago, I played for another prince. His family was just as rude as your father is, offense intended, (Zuko nodded at that) but the prince turned out just fine. At least that's what I thought. The prince's name is Jet, and I guess I fell for his charm. He was kind, he was funny, he was sweet, and heroic. Everything a girl needs, right? Well, everything in my life always has a catch. His problem was that he had six other girlfriends. He was engaged to one, but the rest were to be his concubines," I paused, while Zuko gaped at me. I managed a half smile. "I told him I hated the very idea of having more than one wife, and he laughed at me. 'What's the fun of that, Tara?' he said. He was a jerk. If he was going to be engaged to someone, he might as well stay loyal to her, right? He got angry and called me naive and foolish. Then he told me that he only made me his girlfriend because he pitied me. Because I would never find anyone because..." My voice broke. "Because I'm a peasant." Zuko was horrified, and I had tears in my eyes, but I refused to cry. I refused to cry for Jet.

"Of course I broke up with him after that," I stopped, and Zuko was about to say something when I cut him off.

"You know what the worst part is?" I laughed bitterly. "I actually thought that I could have a happy ending, just like those fairy tales you read when you were a kid. I actually _thought _that a prince could fall in love with me. And that is why I hate you Zuko. I hate you because you're a prince, I hate you because you remind me of Jet." At that time, Zuko had laid his hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. It almost worked. I shrugged his hand off and continued, screaming. "I hate you because of how your father treats me, I hate you because you try to be nice to me just because you pity me!" I pushed him away and ran. I ran because tears were flowing from my eyes like waterfalls, I ran because I didn't want to see him. Not now, not ever.

**A/N: And how was that? :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you for all of those wonderful ideas for the cave and everything, I'm still trying to pick a favorite! I'm so sorry it took so long to update, it's just I had to pack and unpack everything…moving takes a lot of work! **

**To Lily: What did you find confusing?**

**And yes, I did get Katara a map! Thank you for that one. **

**Katara's POV**

For the rest of the day, I tried to avoid him. I don't really know why, but I did. I also had a feeling that he might have been mad at me for being so prejudiced, and I can't really blame him for that. I'm just being protective of myself. Maybe a little over protective, yes, but that doesn't mean I'm letting my guard down! Don't think for one second I don't know what he's up to.

…Okay, maybe I don't know what he's up to. But trust me, I'll find out soon enough.

Besides, I don't need any distractions. After all, tonight's the big ball, and I need to be prepared. I mean, there's no way I can avoid Zuko at his own ball, right?

When he was at his _dance lessons_, it was practice time for me. When he was free, I avoided the practice room at all costs. He was actually pretty predictable. He always thinks I'm in the practice room 24/7. I saw him go into the practice room once, and of course, I wasn't there. Really, just because I'm a professional pianist doesn't mean I don't have a life! I don't spend _all _day practicing!

I did feel a little guilty, however, because every time that he walked into the practice room, and he found I wasn't there, he had a faint look of disappointment on his face. I knew he usually masked his emotions, because he rarely showed any, and he must've been pretty disappointed to show it. One time, I watched him outside of my practice room, pacing. I didn't know what he was doing, until he reached for the doorknob, paused, then turned away and started pacing again. He was trying to decide if he should go in or not! I hated how that made my heart beat faster.

Anyway, the little servant boy I ran into a while back who assisted me with my bags helps warn me whenever Princey boy decides to drop in. His name is Rai (or Raymond, he just prefers to spell it with an "I") and I prefer that rather than "servant boy". He tells me when the Prince's lessons are in session, when he's free, when he's coming, and all that. Rai told me that he had known Zuko ever since Zuko was only seven years old. Rai's parents passed away when he was five, and he came to the palace begging for a place to stay. It was his choice to work at the palace because it made him feel like a freeloader if he didn't. Anyway, Rai warns me whenever the Prince decides to barge in.

Right now I'm in the practice room while Princey boy is at his lessons. I'm trying to focus on my music and not Zuko, but it was difficult. I know I really shouldn't have ran away from him, he was only trying to be nice, but part of me still thinks that if I give in, he'll be just as uncaring as Jet was.

But then again, I do need to move on. Even my brother has got himself a princess girlfriend. Honestly, I don't know what Yue sees in him.

While I was lost in my thoughts, Rai burst into the room and yelled, "HE'S COMING!"

I immediately stopped playing and gathered all my music. I shoved it into my bag and ran for back door. I flung it open, and then what happened next was kind of a blur.

The door actually burst open before I could open it, so I dropped my bag in panic and frantically tried to run in the opposite direction, but he caught me by the wrists, and held on tight.

"Surprise," He purred. Zuko. Just great.

"What are you doing here?" I growled, hoping I didn't sound as nervous as I felt.

"I know there's a back door," He said smoothly. He was still holding onto my wrists, forcing me to look into his eyes. Shit. He's not stupid, that's for sure. I tried to squirm my way out, but it was no use.

"But…you were at dance…" I stuttered. His amber eyes were so hypnotizing, it was hard to focus.

"It got canceled," He replied simply. "My mom wanted me to talk to you about what you were going to wear to the ball tomorrow."

"Me? Oh, I've already picked out something _special _for the ball tomorrow," I answered.

"And what is it?" he asked.

"Jeans."

"Jeans? You can't possibly be serious!" He yelled in disbelief.

"Oh yeah, and a T-shirt of course!" I put my hands on my hips stubbornly. "I am perfectly serious, thank you very much."

"This is a _formal _ball, you can't come in with jeans and a T-shirt."

"Oh yeah? Watch me." I said, wrenching myself from his grasp and gathering my stuff up from the ground.

**Zuko's POV**

When I walked into the practice room, I admit, I _was _a little-no, _very_ annoyed at her for running away from me a few hours ago. I mean, I understand she was upset, but why run from _me_? Really, I was only going to comfort her, and she runs away and ruins everything. And comparing me to that Jet? She can't just make assumptions without any evidence! Okay, so my dad is…a jerk, but that doesn't mean I'm a bad person!

And now she was really pissing me off with her attitude. People will definitely have less respect for me if I can't even handle a pianist that was hired to play for _me _at _my _ball!

Once she got up from the ground, she slung her bag over her shoulder and strutted out. She definitely had an attitude and a pride issue to match mine.

"Wear something nice to the ball tomorrow!" I called after her.

"I wear whatever I want to wear, Princey Boy!" She yelled back. _Princey boy? _Is that what she called me behind my back? Whatever. Back to the problem at hand. I am _not _having her wear _jeans _to my ball, no matter how much she protested.

However, before she walked through the door, she spun around to face me.

"Oh and Zuko?" She asked innocently.

"What."

"If you tell _anyone _about what I told you a few hours ago, I swear, I will make you _wish _that you were dead."

I gulped. She said it so seriously and menacingly, I couldn't help but feel a little terrified.

Her eyes had an evil glint in them, like my sister's in the morning, and if looks could kill…I'm pretty sure I'd be dead by now.

Then she turned around and walked proudly out the door.

**Katara's POV**

Okay, so after I walked out of the room, I had absolutely no idea where I was going. Luckily, Rai drew me up a map of the castle. After looking it over, I decided to go to my room. I was heading in that direction when suddenly my stomach emitted loud grumble. I held it, and turned in the direction of the dining room. It wasn't anywhere around dinner time, but I was hungry, and I didn't want to wait for the ball to get some food.

After I said "good evening" to the cooks, I sat down at my spot at the table. Nobody was here at the moment, but that was all right because Queen Ursa already gave me my permission to eat whenever I wished. The chefs brought me a bowl of noodles-non-spicy-I hated spicy food-and water, and I thanked them. It was lonely eating by myself, but I much rather preferred this compared to the awkward lunch I experienced only hours ago. I shivered at even the memory of Ozai's death glare, and his daughter, Princess Azula, definitely gave me the creeps as well.

**Zuko's POV**

"She's going to wear _jeans_, mom. _Jeans!_" I whined to my mom like a four-year-old begging for ice cream.

She laughed. How. Can she. _Laugh _at that? I sighed. Maybe she didn't understand the seriousness of this problem.

"It's not funny, mom. I'll be the laughing stock of the world. What will the other kingdoms think of me? Weak, for not controlling my own hired pianist?"

She slowly quieted down and looked at me sincerely. "It is _funny _because she puts in so much effort to irritate you! I would think she's taking a liking to you, Zuko!" She teased. I blushed and shot her a glare. She suppressed a smile, at least she tried to, and continued speaking, more seriously this time.

"Think about it Zuko, don't you think it would be more embarrassing for her than for you?"

I gave her a questioning glance that told her to continue.

"Well, she would be the only one who isn't dressed formally, and that would draw more attention to her. Probably unwanted attention, don't you think?"

I thought about her point for a while, and it made sense. But from what I've learned about Katara, she wouldn't care about what others thought of her, only what she thought of herself. That was one of the things he liked about her.

"Besides," My mom continued, "I thought you didn't care what others thought of you! Nobody would think you of weak for such a small thing! Try thinking of it as…thoughtful. For letting her decide what she wants to do, you care about what your people think, and _their _opinions, rather than just your own. That's the way I wanted your father to run this kingdom in the first place-thoughtfully and kindly. And that's what he promised me. That is…until the power got to his head."

I groaned. Maybe I'll try to be different then. Other kingdoms, such as Ozai's, rule with an iron fist. But what would happen…If I ruled differently? Would my people think me weak? Or would they be thankful? I sighed. Why not give it a shot. Sure I had my reputation on the line, but I would be representing my mom's way of thinking, and I was always proud of that. My mom never got a say in how to run the kingdom, and I thought that was unfair. If that's how my mom wants me to rule, then so be it.

"Okay. But that pianist is really getting on my nerves."

My mom smiled. "I think you should talk to your uncle about that. He always has the right thing to say. For now, I have to talk to your father. He wants to rage a war for no reason whatsoever!" She sighed. "This was definitely not the man I married…"

I nodded. Sometimes my uncle's advice is…really confusing at first, but once you figure it out, you'll realize that he was right all along. And as for my dad raging a war for no reason at all…well, I kind of expected that from him. He does seem like the type to terrorize innocent people just to take control of the world. I wonder what would happen if he did…

I shuddered. That's a topic that I didn't want to think about.

**Katara's POV**

Placing my porcelain cup into my empty bowl, and my chopsticks inside of the cup, I carefully carried it to the kitchen, where it was to be washed. I needed to go to my room and just think for a while. Maybe I should give Zuko a chance. After all, he didn't do anything wrong. But if he takes one step in the wrong direction, one little trip-up, I'll make his life a living hell.

**Zuko's POV**

I tried talking to Uncle about my issue, but I don't really think it helped at all. He didn't respond, because he was distracted by his grumbling stomach. Don't get me wrong, he was always happy to hear what I had to say, but if he was starving, he would block out the whole world until he got some food. At dinner (the ball starts at 7:30), I tried to talk to him again, but Ozai was glaring at me as if all his problems in the world came from me, and that made me feel just a tad uncomfortable. Anyway, Uncle Iroh was too busy stuffing his face to listen. Katara didn't show up to dinner, but I didn't question that. I was in a really bad mood, and I didn't want to take that out on her, even if she was the reason behind it.

"May I be dismissed?" I asked, breaking the terrible silence. I cringed as my voice bounced off the walls of the huge room, magnifying it to sound a lot louder than it normally would.

My mom nodded at me, and Ozai said nothing. I took that as a yes, and left. I decided that it was time for a rest before the big night. I needed time to think, anyway. I opened my door, and stepped into my elaborately decorated room. I crashed onto the bed, and sunk my face into the pillow. It smelled of burnt…burnt wood? Burnt leaves, burnt grass…burnt something. I guess that's how my whole room smelled. Maybe that's even what I smelled like. I inhaled the scent, and turned my head to the nightstand beside my bed. On top of it was a tall, thin, glass vase, and in it was a rose. Well, a rosebud. Beside the vase, there was a note.

_Dear nephew,_

_I thought about your problem, and here is your answer._

_This is a rosebud. Leave it in the cold and give it darkness, it will die. Shed some light into it's world, and with warmth and encouragement, it will bloom. _

I was bewildered. So I'm supposed to grow a flower and wait for it to bloom? Then all my answers will come to me? That made absolutely no sense. I wonder sometimes if Uncle even knew what he himself was talking about. Thank you, Uncle. Thanks for making me sink even deeper into the pool of confusion.

I closed my eyes, and was about to fall into a peaceful slumber, when one of the maids woke me up.

"Um…sorry to wake you, Your Highness…" Her timid voice trembled. "B-but we have to get you dressed in your tuxedo…"

I groaned waved her away. "Thank you, I can get dressed myself. Just leave it on my desk."

She bowed. "As you wish. The ball starts in half an hour."

She was halfway out the door when she turned to look at me. "Oh, and your pianist…Lady Katara, refuses to wear the dress your mother picked out for her."

I groaned. I guess I expected that. "Okay, tell her she can wear whatever she wants."

The maid's eyes widened. "Really? You would let her do that?"

"Yes. If she doesn't want to wear the dress, she doesn't have to."

"Okay. I'll let her know," She smiled at me and closed the door.

I smiled to myself. Katara definitely won't see _that _coming.

**Katara's POV**

The ball was in half an hour, and I could feel my heart pounding in my ears. I was really, really nervous. Yes, I have been through this dozens of times, but each time I went through the same thing. I had already picked out my favorite jeans and a T-shirt, and I was changing into them now. I sighed. Usually I wasn't this rebellious, but something about him just made me so…mad? I don't know exactly what the feeling is, but, I definitely felt _something_. Right after I had changed into my clothes, a maid came in and informed me that I could wear whatever I wished.

What was he trying to do? I tell him that I'm not taking this seriously, and he says I can do whatever I wanted to? I huffed. He was very confusing. But if he says I can wear whatever I want, then I will. I folded my arms and smiled victoriously. I won. Right? Didn't I? I got what I wanted, to wear jeans and a t-shirt…so why does it feel like I lost? I groaned and fell back onto my bed. This was going to be a long night.

**A/N: Did you like it? Did you not? Share your opinions with me please! Thank you! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't, and any suggestions on what I can do to improve. Your reviews are very much appreciated. Again, sorry for the late update, moving takes a lot out of a person. And thanks for all the suggestions for the cave! I'll make sure to use them later on.**


	5. The First Ball

**A/N: Happy first of September! ((or whatever day it is when you read this))**

**Ah, anyway…Enjoy the chapter!**

**Katara's POV**

I looked myself in the mirror again. I was dressed in navy blue jeans, my favorite pair, because it was the only one that was not ripped or torn. They were plain, but that's the way I liked my jeans. The maid talked me out of wearing a t-shirt, so now I have on a shirt made of thin white fabric that is smooth to the touch, and flows down gracefully to my upper thighs. It was a kind of dressy shirt, but not too formal. There were no sleeves on this shirt, only one-inch-wide straps, and that was good because it was sweltering in this place. I combed my hair one last time because it's so thick and frizzy. Fortunately, I just took a bath, and it's always easier to tame right after a shower. It was fifteen minutes before the ball started, and the reason I was sweating right now was not because of the heat. I put on a smile, although it looked pretty shaky, even to me. Pursing my lips, I grabbed my music, and inhaled deeply. I let my breath out. I was ready.

I walked out of my door, giving myself a reassuring nod in the mirror, and left, blowing out the candle before I stepped outside. I entered the hallway, and made my way to the ballroom. With each step I took, my breath shortened, and my heart pounded louder in my ears. I never felt _this _nervous before, but I tried not to let my nerves get the best of me. When I opened the door to the ballroom, I was met with blinding light. Maybe it wouldn't be so bright if my eyes hadn't already grown accustomed to the dimly lit hallways. I stepped inside, and remembered the first time I set foot in here, only a few days ago. At that time, I had felt that this room was the most magnificent thing I've ever seen. But now, I realized this was nothing compared to the other rooms in the castle. I made my way to the piano, which was located on the bottom right of the stage, right under a huge painting of an autumn scene. Everything was already set up; the tables, the stage, the decorations, and I was the only one here. The ball didn't start for another 10 minutes, but I was expected to arrive first, so I could practice. Shouldn't the prince be here too? Am I in the right room? Is today really the day of the ball? All these ridiculous questions started running through my head, and I started to panic. I tried to calm myself, and told myself I was being unreasonable, and it was just the nerves talking. I sat on the bench in front of the piano and set up my music. Then I started to warm up. This piano sounded a little different than the one I practiced on, the keys were harder to press, but I can manage. It was still as new and shiny as the one I practiced on, maybe even newer. I envied their ability to afford numerous pianos, while I could only barely put together the money to pay for one.

I continued to warm up, and I was so involved in my playing, that I didn't see Zuko enter from the front doors until he cleared his throat.

**Zuko's POV**

I walked in through the front doors, just to check up on Katara. Actually, I wasn't supposed to be here, but I was already in my tux, and I had my speech ready, so it wouldn't hurt to see if she was alright. I saw her sitting on the bench, her lower legs crossed, sitting up straight, her shoulders thrown back, and her concentration and focus fully on the piano. I sighed. She was so pretty, even if she wasn't wearing a dress. I saw her shirt, and I knew my maid had talked her out of wearing a t-shirt. I half-smiled, but when I walked closer, and saw that she was trembling, my smile faded.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She immediately stopped playing and whirled around to face me.

She sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just you. You scared me!"

"Sorry. What's wrong?"

She feigned confusion. "What do you mean? I'm fine!"

I gave her a look that told her I wasn't buying it. "You're trembling."

She gave me a shaky laugh. "Oh, am I? I haven't noticed…"

"Stop trying to avoid my question! What's wrong?"

She gave up trying to change the topic and shrugged, "I'm just a little nervous is all."

I was shocked. "A professional, nervous? You've got to be kidding me…"

"Yeah, well…"

"Katara, you've been doing this for like…ever, right?"

"Right…"

"So what's making you so nervous this time?"

She sighed and threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "I don't know!"

**(A/N: But I think we all know what's making her nervous, right? ;) )**

"Well, I know you're going to be great, I've heard you play so many times before, and every time you were fabulous."

She smiled gratefully, and this time, it was genuine.

**Katara's POV**

I smiled. His compliments warmed my heart and melted away my nerves. I don't know

how he did it…or why…

"Why do you keep trying to be nice to me?" I whispered. "You're not going to get anywhere."

He looked at me for a second, as if thinking of an answer to my question, then said, "Everybody…they all only love me because I'm a prince," He spread his arms out as if to show me how much of a prince he was. I rolled my eyes. "But you…" He paused. "You hate me because of it!" He said happily.

I raised an eyebrow. "And that's good because…?"

Zuko smiled at my confusion. "Because I can be real around you. I don't have to act like this snobby, sophisticated charming guy. I don't have to pretend that all that formal junk doesn't sicken me to death. And best of all, I don't have to worry that you're pretending to like me just for my money and my status," He laughed. "because you hate me! And I love that about you."

I stared at him in shock. Then I blinked. "You're crazy." I turned around and started to play my piano again.

**Zuko's POV**

I don't know what came over me, but I'm glad I got it off my chest.

"You're crazy."

My heart sunk. But as she turned around, I saw a smile creep onto her lips. I watched as she tried to force it down. My hopes rose immediately and my heart soared. I might have a chance with her after all.

Right then, my mom burst through the doors and ruined my moment.

"Zuko! What do you think you're doing? You need to go backstage! Now! Your ball starts any second now!" My mom pushed me up the stairs of the stage, and behind the curtains, while Katara just watched and tried to hide her laughter.

Once we were backstage, I said, "Mom! I'm fine, I can handle myself."

My mom smiled at me. "I know you can, honey."

Then, she started to smooth out my tux, and dusted off my pants. She looked at my hair, and immediately started to part it, smooth it, and when she didn't like the results, she ruffled my hair again, and repeated the whole process.

"Mom…"

"Wait, I got it…"

I swatted her away. "Mom! I'm _fine!_" I reassured her, fixing my hair.

She sighed in defeat. "Okay. And are you sure you remember your cue?"

"Yes, yes."

"And you remember your speech?"

"Yessss…."

"And it's not too long, not too short?"

"Mmhm.."

"You remember the dances? Move to the rhythm, step with grace…"

"Yes mom! I remember! I have _everything. _I'm _fine_!" I reassured her, waving her off.

"Okay…" She started to walk away and turned back to me. "OH WAIT!"

"What is it now?"

"If you don't find anyone, honey, you still have three more chances."

"I know, I know…"

"Zuko?"

"Yes?"

"Try to have fun." She gave me a quick peck on the cheek, smiled, and left.

I smiled back. I'll try…

**Normal POV**

At first, there were only a few guests, and many of them were single noblewomen. Then, more and more arrived. They stuck their noses high up in the air, and scoffed at Katara when they walked by. She held in an urge to vomit right then and there.

Apparently they loved to gossip, and with all royalty in the room, they had no one to gossip about, and no one to insult. Until they laid eyes on Katara.

They didn't bother keeping their whispers quiet, for Katara heard every word.

"Do you see how her eyelashes are so bare?"

"Ew…look at that icky brown skin…"

"Her hair is sooo unruly…and probably filthy, too!"

"Ugh, look at her clothes! I bet she bought them from the flea market!"

"Yeah, I don't think she can even _afford _a dress!"

And you know what? She found every statement hilarious.

Her eyelashes? She didn't have a problem with them, actually, she thought that _their _eyelashes were outrageously long and thick. It kind of made them look like raccoons.

Her skin? She was proud of its color. Everyone in her village had the same color skin. Maybe a lighter shade than hers, but it was still the same. She bet that if she put one of those girls in the sun, they'd turn red in an instant.

Her hair? Yeah, she knew it was frizzy and unmanageable, but she also knew that they didn't have _any _proper judgment at all, because she had washed it only an hour ago, with the palace's finest soaps and shampoos. Besides, she had the shiniest hair in her village. She got that from her mom.

Her clothes? It wasn't the finest clothing money could buy, but it looked nice in her opinion, and she didn't need expensive silks and jewelry to make her beautiful.

However, over time, her confidence did wear out a little.

Every time money was brought up, she would cringe and remember all of her family's financial troubles. Every time her hair was mentioned, she'd wonder if she really looked that bad. And once, when somebody pointed out that her skin looked like burnt toast, she wondered if she was really _that _dark.

Still, she didn't have a problem with her eyelashes and her clothes. Although…some of their dresses did look _really _pretty…

**Zuko's POV**

I peeked from behind the curtain, and saw all the people below me. I gulped. Suddenly, I was overcome by nerves. However, when I looked at Katara, somehow, she gave me a confidence boost. She handled all the insults thrown her way so well, sometimes even better than I would have. I admired her for her self-confidence. But once, I saw a look of pain flash across her face after someone said something particularly brutal.

"How could somebody that poor and ugly be loved by anyone? Unfortunate peasant."

I watched as she tipped her head up ever so slightly to keep from crying. My heart twisted itself into knots for her. As a prince, I could never really feel her pain, but I would do anything to try and make her feel better. I wanted to reach out to her, to tell her every single word was untrue, but I couldn't. I was stuck backstage. Useless.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and hung my head. I just wanted to give my speech and get this whole thing over with.

**Katara's POV**

"Urrgghhh…" I groaned.

Right after the people started flowing in, I got this terrible itch on my butt. I tried not to scratch it, I tried to focus on my music, but it kept bothering me. I tried hard to restrain myself from wiggling, I already had enough insults thrown my way, I don't need anyone questioning my sanity as well. An hour had slowly passed, much to my disappointment. The ball ended at midnight, which is about four more hours of agonizing finger assault.

"How could somebody that poor and ugly be loved by anyone? Unfortunate peasant."

A woman from behind me told her friend, and they both giggled. Her words cut right through me, and I looked up so my tears wouldn't spill. Suddenly, the keys on the piano were much harder to press.

_This is officially the worst night of my life, and I don't think I can handle another._ _Then that's final,_ I said to myself. _After tonight, I'm quitting._

Suddenly, the room became darker, and the stage lights lit up. Zuko confidently walked onstage, and everyone clapped politely. I had stopped playing.

"Welcome, everybody, to my ball." Another round of applause rang through the ballroom.

"I hope you all are enjoying yourselves, because we still have another four more _fun filled _hours to go." Everybody laughed, even though I'm pretty sure he was serious.

"As you all probably know, there are three more balls after this one. And from these dances, I will choose my fiancée." A wave of whispers ran through the room, and some high pitched giggling as well. I had to try hard not to laugh at the expression on Zuko's face when all the girls started to eye him hungrily.

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I hope you will enjoy yourself as much as I will!" Everyone clapped. When he was sure no one was looking, he made a face and winked at me. I giggled, then clapped my hand to my mouth. Fortunately, nobody heard me over the loud applause, but Zuko raised his eyebrows at my reaction, for I had never so much as smiled his way. He bowed and walked off the stage. Almost instantly, a group of girls flocked towards him, throwing themselves at him, trying, or rather, _forcing_ him to dance.

**Zuko's POV**

I was shocked, and kind of repulsed by the number of girls that flung themselves at me. They batted their eyelashes at me, winked, grabbed my hands, and dragged me to the dance floor. I watched Katara from the corner of my eye and saw her smirk before going back to playing the piano. I looked around the whole room, packed with tons of noblewomen that I was supposed to dance with. I groaned. Great…

"So…Prince Zuko…My name is Natalia. Pleased to meet your acquaintance." That's the only sentence she managed to say after she was shoved away by another crazed woman who desperately wanted to dance with me.

"Hey…trust me, you don't want her. She's such a snob…I'm so much better. Abigail, or you can call me Abby," She said, holding out her hand for me to shake. The other girl, Natalia, got up, shoved her away, and started talking to me again.

"Don't mind her, she's just being the idiot that she is. So how 'bout you and I go dance?" Before I could answer, the other one, Abby, pushed Natalia out of the way.

"How could you call your own sister an idiot?"

"How could _you _call _me _a snob?" Before I know it, they were screaming at each other, and it was utter chaos.

I decided that right now was a good time to get away. After I got away from those two, I bumped into another girl, who was smiling at me like crazy.

"Hi…would you like to dance?"

"Uh…suuuree…" I was kind of scared at how big her smile was.

"Great." She put her arm around my neck and grasped my other hand with hers. Although it was the male who was supposed to lead, it felt like she was dragging me around like I was a limp rag doll. To my horror, Katara started to play a bouncier tune, and the girl I was dancing with danced faster. She spun me around, stepped on my foot a couple of times, and her moves were stiff and not at all graceful. I started to pull away from her, but she just held on tighter and kept on smiling. _Glad _she's _having so much fun…_

Suddenly, someone behind us cleared her throat. Ms. Smiley stopped dragging me around-thank goodness for that-and the girl who cleared her throat smiled gently at me.

"Uhm…Sorry to bother you, but…"

I knew what she was going to say, so I said, "Sure."

"Wait, what?"

Now I was confused. "You were going to ask me to dance, right?"

She laughed. "No, actually, I saw you were already…"dancing" with that girl over there."

"Oh…yeah…well then what were you going to ask me?" I said, embarrassed.

"Where's the bathroom?"

"Oh…Just down the hall, to your left."

She bowed. "Thank you."

_Hm…Now _that _girl isn't half bad._

**Katara's POV**

I'm. So. BORED! At least that's what I was thinking when all of a sudden, the double doors burst open, and an angry looking little barefoot girl stormed in. A moment after she entered, some battered and weary looking guards followed, panting heavily.

"I TOLD YOU, I DO _NOT _REQUIRE YOUR ASSISTANCE!" The girl yelled at her guards. For a small girl, she sure had a loud voice…

"But your father's orders…" I have never seen someone so large so terrified in my entire life.

"Listen…" she hissed viciously. The girl pulled the guard down by his tie so she could look him in the eye. "Would you rather listen to _me, _or would you rather me kick your sorry ass again?"

By now, everyone was quiet, even I had stopped playing, and all eyes were on them.

The guard gulped. "We'll just…wait for you outside." He signaled the other guards to go outside.

The girl patted him on the head. "Good boy." Then she walked away innocently as if nothing had ever happened.

After that…_interesting_ disturbance, things basically went back to normal. The little girl took a seat at the table right next to the piano.

"This is the most bored I've ever been in my entire life. I bet even when I'm dead I would still be having more fun than I am right now," she muttered to herself.

I sighed. "Tell me about it."

She raised her eyebrows and looked around at me. Whoops. I should've known she wasn't talking to me. Her eyes were a pale green, but they were still beautiful.

"Who said that?"

What? But she was staring right at me! How can she not…wait. Pale eyes, bare feet…It suddenly dawned on me that she was blind.

"Over here," I said.

She smiled. "Well I'm glad someone gets it!"

After that, we became best friends in an instant. I figured out her name is Toph, she's actually a year younger than me, and she was barefoot because she could "see" through the vibrations she felt through them. We would both talk about how dreadfully boring the ball was, and kept each other company until midnight when it ended. She even managed to distract me from my cramping hands. She told me that she doesn't dance because she likes to keep both feet on the ground, and spinning makes her dizzy. She's also so much tougher than she looks.

"Well, I'm glad I met you, Sweetness," she said, using her nickname for me.

"Why is that?"

"Because now I actually have a _reason _to come back to the next ball! I'm sure my dad will force me to another one…"

I laughed nervously in agreement. I wasn't sure I was even going to come back to the next one. I sighed and hugged her goodbye. She didn't hug me back, but instead gave me a look of disgust. We both laughed and bid each other farewell. She was the last to leave, and she took a whole plate full of food with her.

I stared at her, and I guess she could feel me staring, because she said, "What? I don't want to leave any leftovers…"

I rolled my eyes.

"GUARDS! Take me home!" She called, and gave me a final wave goodbye.

I smiled and gathered up my music. I was extremely exhausted, and if I didn't get onto a bed fast, I'm going to collapse right here on the floor. It was a mess in here, and I was the only one left. I don't know what happened to Zuko, but at the moment, I didn't really care. Then, I realized I didn't know how to get back to my room, and I was too tired to do anything. I sat on the floor, closing my eyes. Maybe I'll just sleep here…

"Would you like some help?" Zuko offered.

I turned around. "Yes! Thank you."

"Okay, here, take my hand."

I felt like I was too heavy to stand up. I took his hand, and he pulled me up, grunting.

I smirked. "Too heavy for ya?"

He laughed. "No, I'm tired too you know!"

I stood up, and wobbled a little bit. He told me to lean on him, so I happily obliged. I let my guard tumble down all around me, but I was too tired to care. He put an arm around my waist to stop me from swaying, and I didn't even protest once. We started walking toward my room. I closed my eyes, and walked lazily beside him.

**Zuko's POV**

While she closed her eyes, I led us to her room, but not before running into uncle first. He took one look at us, grinned, and wiggled his eyebrows.

I sighed and could feel my face growing warm. I avoided his amused eyes and quickly sidestepped, and opened the door to Katara's room. I sat her on the bed.

"Thanks…" she breathed, falling onto her pillow.

"Aren't you going to…" I was going to ask her if she was going to change into her nightgown, but the words caught in my throat and wouldn't come out.

"Yes, after you leave."

I gulped. "Right…I didn't mean…" _STUPID! You're so stupid!_

"I know, you're just tired. I understand. Bye!"

"Bye." I gave her a short wave, which she didn't see because her eyes were closed.

"Oh and Zuko?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for your…" She yawned. "Help."

I smiled. "You're welcome." I whispered, but it was too late, she was already asleep. And you know what? She wasn't even in her nightgown.

**A/N: Wow…that was a **_**loonngg **_**chapter. I hope you liked it! Review if you did! Please?**


	6. Leaving or Staying

**A/N: OMIGOD I am so so so so so so so sorry!**

**You guys have been waiting for another chapter, haven't you? Well…usually I don't write during the school year…I should've warned you guys about that, huh? My fault, my fault entirely. Anyway…sorry for the hold up! Here's your late Hanukah/Christmas/Kwanzaa present and early New Years present!**

**Oh and I noticed that I haven't named the fourth chapter yet. So it just says "Chapter 4". How embarrassing.**

**Katara's POV**

I woke up to find myself in the same clothes I wore last night. Great. I forgot to change.

What had my Gran Gran always scolded me about? "Never wear your clothes to sleep! If you do, they'll get all wrinkled!"

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. Remembering my family always helped sooth my nerves in a new and strange place. At least they were happy and safe. I couldn't say the same about myself.

I stretched and glanced briefly at my window. I could see rays of early afternoon sunlight peaking out from behind my curtain, and I realized I had slept in. That's hardly anything I can be held responsible for, since I did go to sleep at midnight the other day.

Suddenly, the past night's memories flashed through my head. They were fuzzy, as if they were stored in the farthest corners of my mind. It took a while to gather all of the details and put them together in the correct order. I recounted the events in my head. It was sort of frustrating because nothing was clear or vivid. It was like just waking up and trying to remember a dream.

At least nothing very important stood out. Except…

The smallest detail I remembered from the previous night hit me square in the chest, and I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. Then I seemed to lose control of the beating of my heart, which was now rather erratic.

What I had remembered was myself, limp as a rag doll, stumbling beside Zuko, his arm around my waist, half-carrying and half-guiding me. What's worse was my head was on his shoulder. I groaned and my face fell into my hands.

How could I have been so weak? Somewhere in the very back of my mind argued that I was half asleep and I needed his help to carry me back to my bed. That part of my mind was one that held my dignity, my resolve, and my pride. Now it was faint, as if I was hearing it from the other end of a very long tunnel. I knew that was only half of the reason I let him carry me.

The other half of my mind…well, more than half, shouted the truth.

I am clearly, absolutely, undoubtedly, falling for the Prince. Prince Zuko.

My cheeks felt hot as I quickly changed into more casual clothes, and went into the bathroom to brush my tangled hair. I violently pulled the brush through my hair, thinking about what a fool I was last night. My cheeks burned an even brighter red as I remembered _thanking _him for his _help_. What a weak, lovesick idiot I had become.

On the bright side, last night's events gave me more reason to leave this terrible place. I needed to leave before I _completely_ fell for him.

I started to brush a little more gently after I realized I was ripping out a lot of hair, not that it mattered, it was so thick anyway. My hair reminded me of what the noblewomen had said about my appearance last night. Even just thinking about it caused a dull ache in my chest. I hurriedly pushed that thought away to avoid more pain.

I decided I would tell Zuko and his family that I was leaving at breakfast. I nodded to myself in the mirror partially to assure myself that leaving was what I wanted, and partially to remind myself that there was no turning back.

I heard a knock at the door, and quickly finished brushing.

I opened the door, and Rai immediately bowed and handed me a letter.

"Mail, for you!" He said, smiling.

His smile immediately made me smile back. I couldn't help it. He just carried around an aura of cheeriness wherever he went.

"Thanks," I said, making a mental note to read it later.

"No problem. Oh, and I've been ordered to inform you that the royal family is waiting for you to attend breakfast and to remind you sternly that breakfast had started half an hour ago."

I panicked. I hadn't realized I was so late. "Oh, okay…" I quickly dropped the letter onto the desk, stepped outside, closed the door and hurried away, giving a quick wave to Rai.

"Katara!" He called.

I stopped to look back at him.

"The dining room is the other way."

"Right…On second thought…can you lead me there?" I asked.

He laughed. "Sure."

**Zuko's POV**

My uncle was driving me insane. He wouldn't stop grinning and winking at me the whole morning. Luckily, no one else noticed this except for me, and if they did, they didn't say anything, which is not unusual for my family. My sister sat across from me, examining her extremely long fingernails. I swear she sharpens them just so she can murder me at night. That's why I trained myself to sleep very lightly. However, when I bring up this issue to my parents…well, my mom anyway…she laughs and tells me that there's nothing to be worried about, which tells me she knows absolutely nothing about her daughter.

Ozai

was currently at a meeting, so he wasn't going to join us for breakfast. I wondered again for the tenth time that day why Katara was late for breakfast. Just as I was thinking that, I heard laughter, and then Katara and Rai stepped through the door. Rai bowed dramatically, Katara giggled, and he left with a smile. I examined her carefully, with questioning eyes, but she refused to meet my gaze. I felt jealousy bubbling in the pit of my stomach. Why couldn't I make her laugh like that?

"Making friends with a servant…" Azula drawled, her attention still on her fingernails. "How delightful."

I shot her a glare, because that "servant" happened to be my closest friend. Katara said nothing, but I saw her gaze harden. Breakfast was just served, and boy was I starving. We usually didn't eat breakfast this late, but since Katara insisted on being late.

"Oh and by the way…You're late," Azula so cleverly pointed out.

"Azula…" My mother said, her voice had a warning tone in it.

Azula looked up from her fingernails, only to give my mother the hugest, fakest innocent smile I've ever seen. "I was only informing our guest that breakfast usually starts earlier, so she won't make the same mistake again, mother! Obviously she wasn't very well informed."

My mom's gaze remained expressionless, but I saw her jaw clench. She looked like she was about to say something, but the servants came in just in time, their arms full of breakfast dishes.

Of course, I barely got to enjoy any of my breakfast because I spent most of my time trying to get Katara's attention, but she was unwilling to even glance at me. After a while, I gave up in frustration.

Apparently, my mom noticed my wasted efforts, because she gave me a slightly pitiful, slightly encouraging smile. My face grew warm.

"Uhm…I have something to say…" Katara began nervously, looking at my mother for permission to continue.

She smiled and nodded, signaling for her to go on.

"I…I feel that…I…I don't want to…um…I'm sorry but…"

"Oh just spit it out…" Azula mumbled.

I glared at her. Why can't she just pretend to be nice once in a while?

"I quit." Katara suddenly said, looking down, as if she was ashamed.

I stared at her in shock. Suddenly I was glad Ozai wasn't here, or he would've exploded.

"But…why? We need you here, Katara," My mom said. She looked as thrown off as I was.

"Well…because…" She stammered. She continued to stare intensely at the floor, like she wanted desperately to burn a hole through it and escape. "I…I'm done with breakfast…I'll just go back to my room…" She started to get up.

I gave my mom a pleading look, begging her to do something.

However, it wasn't my mom who saved us, it was my uncle. He said, "We'll pay you extra."

She stopped in her tracks.

"30 extra gold pieces if you stay." We all gawked at him, even Azula. He'd been so quiet this whole time, I almost forgot he was there.

"I'll….I'll…" She swallowed. "I'll think about it." But before we could say anything else, she ran off.

After a moment of stunned silence, my loving sister spoke up. "Well…you sure did hire a _dependable _pianist, didn't you, Zuzu?"

"Shut up, Azula."

**Katara's POV**

I ran down the hallways, turning every which way until I was lost and out of breath. I pressed my back to the cold, hard, red stone wall and slid down.

_Thirty gold pieces? _I thought to myself. _That's almost undeniable. I have to stay. My family can live off thirty gold pieces for…for a while! We can pay our debts…Dad can finally take a day off…and we can visit the otter penguins like we used to…_

I sighed. I needed to think this over. I mean, how selfish would I be to turn down thirty gold pieces when my family was obviously in need?

I heard guards down the hall approaching. I didn't want them to haul me back to the breakfast room. No, I definitely did not need that. In a panic, I opened the nearest door and slid inside. Just by chance, I happened to end up in my room.

I sat down by the chair near the desk and picked up the unopened letter. I tore it open in frustration. When I realized it was from my brother, I handled it with a little more care. I took out the letter. It read:

_Dearest Katara,_

I had the tiniest urge to laugh. Sokka always made his letters so formal when I stayed at fancy places like this one.

_I am deeply sorry to inform you that our beloved father has fallen very ill. _

The dull ache in my chest returned, however this time it wasn't dull, it was sharp. My dad…ill? This was so shocking to me because my dad was always the picture of health to me, and he was the strongest person I knew. So how could _my dad…_be sick?

_The healers say it will take a while for him to recover; more than a few weeks. They tried everything, from magical herbs to all different kinds of medicine. Nothing worked. Right now he's really pale and weak. He's just lying on his bed, and once when he woke up, he looked at me as if he didn't recognize who I was. He sweats a lot, too, even though he's really cold. I really wish you were here. You would know how to heal him. You were always good at that. I'm not._

My heart stopped beating for a moment. Whenever my brother writes "I really wish you were here", he really means he's terrified. Sokka never admits he's scared.

_He had to take a month off from his job and is currently unable to support us. We are in urgent need of money. I apologize this letter to you wasn't what you normally expect, but our situation is very serious, and I, unfortunately, cannot support our family. I have skipped a few days of school to attend to our ailing father. Our money is running very low, so I beg of you to send more soon._

_Love,_

_Sokka_

I felt like crying. My dad never got sick. Even when Sokka and I both got a highly contagious disease, my dad never got contaminated, even after he ignored the healers and insisted on caring for us day and night. And what's worse, he didn't get a minor cold. No, no small disease would have the power to infect my dad. I was sure of it. He must be really sick, too, if he's willing to stay home instead of work. He always works because he knows we need the money, and when I got a job as a professional pianist, he and I shared the responsibility of taking care of our family.

But now it was just me. I had a terribly strong desire to flee back home, to make sure dad was alright. Plus, Sokka was right. He could never heal anything. I, on the other hand, could heal almost everything. My mom always said that my healing skills were so good, that I could bring back the dead if I wanted to. I knew she was joking, but she always said it with a twinkle in her eye, like she knew something I didn't. Anyway, my healing skills weren't as good as she thought, because I wasn't able to heal her.

I fought down the urge to go back home, because I know I'd be the most helpful if I stayed here. Even if I did go back home, I probably wouldn't make it back in time. I sighed and looked out my window. In the bright blue afternoon sky, there was a crescent shaped moon. I made a silent prayer to the moon goddess. _Please. Make sure my dad is okay._

As soon as I finished all that. I left my room. I had to tell the royal family that I accept their offer of thirty extra gold pieces. To be paid in advance, of course. I needed that money as quick as possible.

I closed the door to my room and thought, _Apparently I have to stay. After all, fate didn't really give me a choice._

**A/N: Oh, and to those of you wondering if Aang will be in this story, the answer is NO. I don't really know how to fit him in…sorry!**

**Oh and just a heads up for next time: I probably won't update for a while. Maybe during spring break, maybe during the weekends when I have time. MAYBE. I'm so sorry but I'm so much busier this year.**

**Don't forget to review if you liked it! I always love your reviews.**


End file.
